Traveling sprinkler



"mum:

WIJ-"III P H. ADAMSON 2,256,838

TRAVELING SPRINKLER Filed April 11, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 23, 1941 UN'ETED STATE-S PATENT OFFICE TRAVELING SPRINKLER Lee H. Adamson, LosAngeles, Calif. Application April 11, 1939,:Seria1 No. 267,237

- 4 Claims. (crass-50) My invention relates to traveling sprinklers of the type shown in Letters Patent No. 1,975,596 issued to me October 2, 1934, in which the sprinkler is-operated by the water thrown or discharged therefrom and has mechanism thereon operated by the force of the water to pull said sprinkler across the area to be sprinkled.

These sprinklers are used in sprinkling great fields, such as polo fields, golf courses and the like, where long distances are to be covered and where it is necessary that the mechanism operates automatically in performing th sprinkling function and in moving slowly over the field.

Among the salient objects of the present invention is to provide a sprinkling apparatus of the character referred to in which a primary sprinkling element is driven by the force of the water discharged therefrom and which is so connected by a gear system to, a drum that ample power is developed for pulling the apparatus and the long line of water hose across the field in the operation of the said apparatus. I

Another object of the invention is to providean apparatus so low and compact in its construction and arrangement that it can be pulled along close to the ground without the use of wheels or runners which will cut into or mark up the lawn or surface being sprinkled. Another object of my invention is to provide means for automatically throwing the driving mechanism out of gear in case the apparatus reaches the limit of its travel and no attendant is present to stop its operation.

Another object of my invention is provide a secondary sprinkling nozzle, with means for driving it rotatively to throw a stream of water over a large area along which the apparatus is moving and as it moves, with means for disconnecting said secondary sprinkling nozzle from its driving element and holding it in a given position.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved drum and wire and driving connections to said drum whereby greater efiiciency and certainty is had and where less bulk is made possible; where said drum is mounted under the train of driving gears and as close to the ground as possible, the carrier for said apparatus being a low platform or sheet metal body to slide fiatwise and smoothly over the lawn being sprinkled.

And in general, my invention provides improvements in such apparatus as will increase the efficiency thereof, the size and weight of the entire apparatus and the convenience and rapidity with which it can be connected up and moved from place to place in setting it up for operation.

, In order to explain my invention more-in detail, I have illustrated on the accompanying two sheets of drawings one practical embodiment of the invention, which I will now describe.

Figure 1 is a plan view looking down on said embodiment;

Figure 2 is a side or edge view of the device h w i Figure 3 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view, taken on line 33 of Fig. 1; t

Figure 4 is a plan view of said apparatus with the cover plates removed, and'with parts broken away to show other parts thereunder; I Figure 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, with the parts thrown out of driving connections} Figure 6 is avertical cross sectional View taken on line 66 of Fig. 1;

Figure 7 is a sectional detail on line l-| on Fig.3; and

I Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, my invention as here embodied includes in combina tion, a base pipe or casting l0, shown in longitudinal sectionin Fig. 3, having two upturned or upwardly extended branch-like portions II and I2 and at its end having connected therewith, at a slight angle, hose connecting fittings, as at l3, and with which the supplyhose I4 is connected. This member I0 is mounted upon a flat drag member l5, turned up at its forward end, as at l5 and folded upon itself, around a flat bar I6, as seen at I6, Figs. 3 and 7. These parts are all held together by means of a U-bolt I1, around a bearing member l8, secured in the upturned end i l of the member ID, with a bridge member l9 and the nuts 20, 20, Fig. 7. Secured: in the other upturned portion l2, of the base member ID, is another bearing member 2|, on which is mounted a gear 22, having an extended hubf portion 22, over which .is placed the end of a member 23, and the other end of which is restingv upon the bearing member I 8, With'a pipe nipple 24 extended through said bearing member 18 and the end of said member 23, as seen in Fig. 3. Said member 23 is provided intermediate its ends with bearing openings, as at 23 and 25, and in which are the lower ends of two short shafts, as 26 and 21,

Secured to the hub portion 22' is a large gear 28, which is in mesh with a pinion 29, on the shaft 26, above which is a gear 30, secured to said shaft 26, by pin 30', and also secured to the pinion 29 by meansof a pin 3|, in the hub portions of said gears 29 and 30.

Secured to the short shaft 21, is a large gear 32, which is in mesh with a pinion 33, which is keyed to the pipe nipple 24, as at 24. Screwed on to the upper end of said pipe nipple 24, with a left hand thread, is a sprinkler head 34, in the opposite sides of which are two sprinkler arms or nozzle members, 35, 35, which may be referred to as the primary or driving sprinkler, the water being supplied through the member H3, and the pipe nipple 24, as will be clear from Fig. 3.

Screwed on the upper end of the other pipe nipple, designated 36, in the bearing member 2], i

is a flanged member 31, having provision in its flange, at 3'1, to be secured to the upper end of the hub extension 22 of the gear 22,, to be turned, therewith, and also with provisionin said flange,

as at 38, to be secured to a cover plate'39', when it is desired to hold said nipple 36 and said flanged member 37, from turning. That is: the pin or screw is removed from 3'! and inserted in 38, the end of which cover plate also fits around the upper-end of the hub extension 22 and underthe flanged member '31. Said cover plate 39 has a central portion at 39' which fits over the upper end of the short shaft 26, said cover plate also having a second cap or bearing portion at 39 which fits over the upper endof the short shaft 21, said plate also 'extending'to and fitting overthe upper end of the pipe nipple 24, within thesprinkler head 34, as indicated in said Fig. 3, the front end of said cover plate having a spacing flange portion at 40, and being secured to the member 23 by means of a bolt 4|, and also to the bridge member I9, which has an extension portion I 9, bya bolt 42.

Mounted under the member 23; upon aT-member 43, is a drum 44, having the hub portion 45, and the channel rim 46, at the upper-edge of which and integral therewith, as here shown, is a gear portion 41, which is normallyin mesh with the pinion gear 22-, as seen in Figs. 3* and 4, while in Fig. 5 said drum and its gear portion are shown out of mesh with said pinion 22, by the movement of said T -member 413, in a manner now to be described.

Said T member 43, is pivotally connected at 46, with its outer end extendedto the'edge of the drum and; provided with a guard-pin 49,-as'seen in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. T -member 43 is provided; withan enlarged portion, as 43 and-is provided with a curved-slot 55'- 'and bolt 5|, forming a-slot and pin connection for'this movable end of said -T-member 4.3,. The stem portion of, said T-member 43' is designated 4-3, 43., being composed of upper and lower portions, asseen in Fig. 8, the upper portion of which is broken away in Fig. 5, said parts being brought together at 52, asseen in said: Fig. 8, the lower member 23 at its outer end being upturned to form a seat for the end of the upper portion, as at53, with screw bolts 54 for holding them together. The outer end of said stem "portion is of beveled form as at 53 and when in its normal, operating position, fits snugly on a member 55, forming an anchor position for the end of said stem end.

An operating lever 55 is'pivotally connected at 51 with a part of themember '55, and has a forkedportion 56' fitting over a connecting bolt 58, as-seen in; Figs. 5 and 3;.With the long openating partof saidlever 56 is adapted tobe swung from the--position,- shown in Fig. 4,;to the position shown in Fig. 5,. or theflpurpose.ofmqving said T-member 43,' and the combination drum The opposite end of the v and gear 44-41 carried thereby to the position shown in Fig. 5, whereby to disengage the gear portion 47 from the pinion 22 by which said drum is driven.

Said lever, when in the position shown in Fig. 4, and as seen in Fig. 2, extends out in front of said apparatus, in position so that as said apparatus movesto the anchor stake S, will be engaged by said stake and raised, lifting its notched portion at 59 off of the upturned upper edge at $6, as seen in Fig. 2, whereupon said lever is free to be moved to the release position shown in Fig.

. 5,- This is accomplished by the pull on the drum 46, by the wire 65, attached at one end to said "drum, as at 6|, Figs. 2 and 6, and extended through. a spool 62 in the front of the drag, as seen in Fig.v 5, and attached to the anchor stake S, shown to be curved at its lower end and so driven into the ground that pull at its upper end will have more resistance, as will be understood fromisai'd Fig; 2. fliTh'e'fpull on the wire 65, around the drum 44, assaid 'drum is slowly revolved, is transmit-ted through the T-member 43; one arm of which is above and, the other arm of which is-belowsa-id drum, against the member 55, here shown as formed integrally withthe upturned portion- H, of thepipe or casting-id asseen in- Fig. 4.

Said base pipe orcasting I0, forming the main conduit for the supply of water, has cast as a part thereof, at opposite sides,'two yoke or'side portions; '63, 63;, which;'extendgrearwardly and are integrally connected with the rearward portion of said' member If Itwill be seen in Fig. 5, that the T-member43, is pi-votally connected at 48' to orient these side portions" 63, and at its other the other sidemember 63- by a slot and pin connection,g585:l. The forward end of thismem- 3i6, 'at the rear of said sprinkler apparatus, above the-fiangedjmember 3,7,is mounted a tail-like drag member 64, with..a.nut.65, and a. coupler 66, [to which is connected a nozzle body 61, to. the upper end of of which is secured a nozzle 68, said nozzle body is provided at its upper end with a forkedv or Y-shaped head 61 one fork of which is closed with a screw plug 69, while the nozzle 68 is screwed into the other fork thereof, as seen in Figs. 1, 2and- 6.

When; it is desiredthat said nozzle body 61: and the nozzle; 68-. shall berevolved-,'referring to Fig. Ssthe set screw'or: pin;- at: 31 looks the flanged member 31:with.the gear hub. 22', whereupon said flanged member" 3:1; pipe nipple, 3.6, and nozzle body 61. andinozzlei 68rare all'revolved. slowly. with thelarge gear? 28".. When-it is desire'd to move the sprinkler along andidischarge water outwardly in opposite di rections, the lock pin v 3:7 is removed from the hub extension-22' and is inserted at 38,- looking saidflanged member 31- to the'coverplate'39, as willbeclearfr-om said Fig. 3. The purpose offthe tail-like drag 64 is-to drag along in engagement with the earth for holding thenozzle body 61 from turning and forkeeping the forked head 61 andthe two nozzles connected therewith in a; position transversely of the longitudinal and of'the direction of movement. If it is, desired to throwthe stream, farther, a longer nozzle stem, as-lfli-F'ig. 6, can be=substituted for the nozzle-68:

or axlefor the drum 44.

The tail-like drag member 64 is removed when nozzle 68 is to be'driven- The base pipe or casting II], with its integral at the front, upturned end of said drag, asindicated in Fig. 7, before described.

The end of the upper part of the T-stem member 43, above the drum -44, is provided with a journal portion, in which the upper end of a bearing post or member 12 is secured, with its lower end anchored in the lower portion of said T-member, as seen in Fig. 6. This is the bearing Use and operation l'he use and operation of my invention may be briefly described as follows:

The apparatus is so compact that it can be easily carried by hand. The water supply hose [4 is connected with the base casting I0, forming a conduit for water with the two outlets therefrom at 24 and 36. The pull wire 60 is anchored at any desired distance to be traversed by the sprinkler by means of an anchor stake S, or to any other object. One advantage of my invention is that small wire can be used and even with a narrow drum, four or five hundred feet of wire can be wound thereon. As the water reaches the water driven element 35 it starts to revolve, the discharge from the ends of the arms 35, even under relatively low pressure will cause them to revolve.

From this driven element, pinion 33 drives the large gear 32, on the same short shaft with pinion 32', in mesh with large gear 30, on the upper end of short shaft 26 and on which is also a pinion 29, which is in mesh with a large gear 28, mounted on the hub extension 22' of pinion 22, and secured thereto. In said hub 22 is a pipe nipple for supplying water from the conduit member in to the sprinkler nozzle 68, as before described. Through the flanged member 31 secured to said pipe nipple 36, at its upper end, said pipe nipple and the nozzle can be secured to revolve with said inion 22 and hub extension 22' by means of the pin or screw at 31', as before described, or by changing the pin to the position at 38, said nipple and nozzle will be locked to the fixed cover plate 39, as before described. If the nozzle is not to be revolved, as the sprinkler is moved along its course, two discharge nozzles can be connected to the forks of the Y-member 67 and two streams of water will be discharged in opposite directions as said sprinkler is pulled along upon the surface. The pinion 22 is in mesh with the gear portion 41 of the wire-receiving drum 44 and slowly drives said drum to wind the wire thereupon and pull said sprinkler mechanism slowly across the field to the anchor stake S, as before explained.

It is to be noted that the construction and arrangement of this apparatus provides a very compact and low structure which lies close to the ground, and that great power is developed, sufficient to pull a long line of water hose filled with water from start to finish points.

It will be noted that the pipe fittings at l3, connect the hose M at an angle to the straight line of the conduit member or casting III. This is to offset the pull at one side of the drum 44 by the wire 60, and to prevent the carrier member I5 from moving at an angle rather than innearly alinement with the line or direction of travel: n i 1 I l I The 'pulliis on the drum 44, andthrough the T-memb'er 43, and particularly the stem portion 4.3 thereof, the :strain is applied directly to the member 55,. shown. as an integral part of the ba'seiorconduit casting .III, with its side wings or portions 63; B3,.and .the middle cross bar or portion thereof, designated 63 and .seen slightly inFig. 5, and in section in Fig-6. And, with said. conduit castingalso connected with the front upturned end of the flat carriermember 15, as seen in Fig. 'I, 'itwill be clear that the pull on. the apparatus is well connected with th'egbase. or conduit .casting. and the carrier member.

' 'When the'sprinkler reaches the end of its travel, or the anchor stake, the end of the lever 56 is engaged and lifted sufficiently to release its notch 59 (Fig. 2) from the front of the carrier, at I6, and the pull on the .drum causes said lever to swing to the position shown in Fig. 5, which causes the stem 43' of the T-member 43 to be moved to one side, away from the member 55, as seen in Fig. 5, with the result that the drum 44 and its gear 41 are moved out of mesh with the driving pinion 22, whereupon the drum is disconnected and stops and there is no damage to the mechanism.

I am aware that changes in the details of construction and arrangement can be made in the mechanism as here shown for descriptive purposes without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not, therefore limit the invention to the showing made, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claims.

I claim:

1. A traveling sprinkler including a conduit forming casting having means for connecting a supply hose to one end thereof for supplying water under pressure thereto, means providing two vertical outlets from said conduit forming casting, at longitudinally spaced locations, a driving element connected with one of said outlets and operable by water forced therethrough,

a sprinkler nozzle rotatably connected with the other of said outlets to receive water therefrom for discharge, a gear train from said .driving element to said sprinkler nozzle for driving the latter from the former, a wire-receiving drum interposed between said outlets on said casting and under said gear train, and gear connections to said drum from said driven sprinkler nozzle for driving said wire-receiving drum for winding a pull wire thereon for moving said traveling sprinkler.

2. A traveling sprinkler including in combination a base structure having a conduit for water therein and having means for connecting a hose thereto, a driving element connected with said conduit to receive water under pressure therefrom and operable by water forced therethrough, a sprinkler nozzle connected with said conduit to receive water therefrom for discharge, said nozzle being rotatably mounted a distance from said driving element, a gear train connecting said driving element with said sprinkler nozzle for driving the latter from the former, a drum to receive a pull wire, and a gear on said drum around the periphery thereof, a gear driven with said sprinkler nozzle and in mesh with said gear on said drum for driving the latter, said drum being movably mounted and means for moving it bodily out of mesh with the driving gear therefor.

,3. In a traveling;sprink1er of the character referred to, a driving sprinkler element operable by Waterrforced therethrough, a-separate' revolubly mounted 'sprinkler'nozzle, spaced from said drivingisprinkler element, driving gear connec- 4. A:trave1ing sprinkler including in combination, a carrier member to be.- moved fiatwise upon the surface to :be' sprinkled; a conduit member thereon having means for connecting a watersupply; hose thereto and having two outlets longitudinally spaced, a'revoluble sprinkler constitutinga-driving element connected with one of said outlets and operable by water forced there- .through, a sprinklernozzle revolubly connected with the other-of said outlets to receive water therefrom forv discharge', a train of gears interposedfrom said driving element to said sprinkler nozzlefor: driving the latter from the former, a drum for Wire for moving said carrier mounted fiatwise upon said conduit member under said train of gears, and gear connection to said drum for driving the same to wind wire thereupon.

LEE H. ADAMSON. 

